Paper is typically manufactured by forming a pulp slurry, which is a mixture of fibers suspended in a solution of primarily water. The fibers can be, for example, cellulose-based fibers (i.e. wood fibers), in which case the slurry is termed pulp slurry. Once the pulp or slurry is produced, it is fed to a distribution system that includes a dilution water header, a distributor, and a headbox. The distributor receives the incoming pulp slurry and is typically utilized to normalize the properties of the slurry, such as its consistency, pressure, and velocity. The dilution water header supplies dilution water that is used to control the consistency of the pulp exiting the distributor. Flow exiting the distributor is fed through a plurality of delivery lines that deliver the flow to a series of nozzles distributed across the headbox. The nozzles deposit the slurry, in "jet" form, onto a moving papermaking "wire" to form a sheet on the papermaking wire. The sheet is then dewatered, pressed, dried, and treated to form the finished product.
It may be desired to make colored paper that has stripes that extend in the machine direction (i.e. extend in the longitudinal direction of the deposited sheet). However, in order to make colored paper in conventional papermaking systems, dyes, pigments or other colorants are added to the pulp slurry such that all of the pulp slurry is dyed, and the resultant paper web is uniformly colored throughout its thickness. This method does not allow for the selective introduction of color, and therefore the color of the finished paper product is limited to a single shade or color. Some paper mills produce paper sheets having a colored "marbled" appearance. These sheets are manufactured by drizzling small droplets of dye from a pipe located a few inches above the freshly deposited pulp on the wire. This method of dye application produces a random marbled appearance and does not produce a striped paper. In addition, the marbled coloring is located predominately on the top side of the sheet, and is not uniformly distributed throughout the thickness of the paper. Furthermore, when the paper is cut or torn, the uncolored sublayers of the paper become visible. Accordingly, there is a need for a method of manufacturing machine direction striped paper that is colored throughout the entire thickness of the sheet.